A forum on health care reform featuring people who have been adversely affected by the current system that relies on private insurance will be held Thursday. Entitled “National Health Care Reform: The Time Is Now,” the forum will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. at St. Monica/St. George Parish Center, 328 W. McMillan St., Clifton Heights.

Among panelists who will speak at the forum are uninsured people, small business owners who can't afford premiums for their workers and physicians.

When it comes to debating policy issues, most people will tend to respect their opponents more if they at least use verifiable facts when making their arguments and not outlandish statements that are easily shredded.

Such is the case with Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou and his attacks on U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Westwood) over the recent "cap and trade" bill that seeks to limit carbon dioxide emissions.

The lead feature article in the new issue of The New Yorker focuses on the anti-gang program Cincinnati implemented two years ago. John Seabrook's "Don't Shoot" is a long, well-researched and well-written story about David Kennedy, who devised the "Ceasefire" crime-fighting model in Boston, and his experiences here implementing C.I.R.V. (Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Crime).

Cincinnati’s solicitor says an anti-tax group is wasting taxpayer money by filing a federal lawsuit against the city without first contacting its Law Department to resolve the alleged violations outside of court.

When staff writers leave CityBeat they have, in the past, had an opportunity to publish a “so long” piece. It’s usually done as a column or a first-person commentary. My last piece for CityBeat will be a review of a new book that looks at the current U.S. slave market.

The local attorney and arch-conservative activist is offering his services free of charge to the NAACP’s Cincinnati chapter, where he is chair of legal redress. His duties include assisting the chapter’s efforts at advancing the interests of the area’s African-American residents.

At the same time, Finney continues his legal work for ex-State Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr. and their political group, the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST). His latest effort there is a lawsuit trying to overturn the Ohio law prohibiting former state lawmakers from lobbying in Columbus for one year after they leave office.

During an election year, city council and the mayor member profess to care about the most vulnerable in our society, but their actions are speaking much louder than words. Mayor Mark Mallory allowed a city budget proposal to go forward that would have eliminated all human services funding and the meager investment was only restored after groups like the YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter and the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for theHomeless organized strong and vocal opposition and the money was restored.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and one Cincinnati group has one million reasons to be flattered. Strive is “a unique education partnership spanning all sectors of Greater Cincinnati society… working to help each child in our urban core succeed from birth through some form of college into a meaningful career” and their approach is being replicated across the United States.

Considering that the United States has incarcerated more of its citizens than any other country in the world, we’ve created a problem we can’t avoid – re-integrating millions of people into mainstream society. With restrictions on employment that bar former felons from even submitting an application for an open position, we’re creating conditions that, at best, force former offenders into lying to get jobs or returning to crime in order to survive.

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” — President Dwight Eisenhower, Farewell Address (1961)